I do not own naruto or this story It is a story that was removed several years ago and i couldn't find it anywhere else I couldn't find the author if the owner contacts me and provides prof of ownership i will take it down just want people to be able to enjoy this story

Chapter 12 : Wave Mission - Calm before the Storm

As it turned out the next morning came with much joy for the poor citizens of Wave. Tazuna had nearly fainted when he saw the massive stores of fresh sea food in his old ice house. He had wanted to know who could be such a kind person to do such a thing for the people of his community and got his answer when he came across a tuft of golden blonde fur stuck in the door frame. He knew of only one person with fur like that...a certain tailed Hanyou. But from the letter he could tell that the boy didn't want any sort of attention for his good deed and while Tazuna really wanted to show him thanks he decided it was best to follow his wishes. So with that a happy Tsunami and a shy Haku made themselves busy doling out fresh sea food to the people of Wave.

Naruto watched in the distance from his perch in the tree tops. Kyu and Sakura jumped up next to him and Kyu went into her human form. Naruto soon found himself being hugged by the two girls.

"That was a very nice thing you did for those people, Naruto-kun." Sakura said softly.

Arching his eyebrow, Naruto asked. "Oh? And how do you know it was me?"

Kyu giggled. "I told her. Also Kakashi and Zabuza watched you do it last night so it's likely that Haku-chan knows as well."

"Ah...I see." Naruto answered. "As long as no one makes a big deal out of it, I'm good."

"So what's the plan for today?" Sakura asked.

"I thought I might give you a bit more training in your elements, I'm going to see if you can learn fusion jutsu, with water and earth you should be able to fuse them and get the plant element, that and I wanted to see your the Chakra Bow you were telling me about." Naruto said.

"I think you'll like it, archery runs in my family and I tweaked the advanced chakra manipulation you taught me to create arrows for my bow." Sakura said both excited and proud.

Kyu nodded with an impressed look. "That sounds pretty good, Sakura-chan, and while you keep our man here busy, I can go hunting for some rabbits for tonight's dinner."

Naruto chuckled. "Your favorite food is always going to be rabbit isn't it?"

"Well it's better than ramen." Kyu stated.

"That depends, wild rabbit is, but domesticated rabbit tastes more like rich chicken. Besides, you know I'm not addicted to ramen anymore, though I still like it a lot, there are other better foods out there." Naruto agreed.

"Anything with strawberries." Sakura giggled. Strawberries were her most guilty pleasure and that included any kind of food with them in it.

"I actually like raspberries and blackberries a bit more myself but I agree that strawberries are quite good." Kyu chuckled.

"I'm not much for sweets myself, though I do like most any kind of fresh fruit...just how did we get on the topic of food anyways? Are you two hungry?" Naruto asked.

"No...it's just fun to talk about our favorite foods sometimes." Kyu answered.

Naruto just nodded and then sighed, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked over the area. Both girls could sense their mates change in mood and looked at him worriedly. What Naruto didn't know, was that Sakura and Kyuubi had a long talk whilst he was out the previous night and now she knew everything. Kyuubi had used a similar memory viewing jutsu to the one Naruto used except this showed not only Kyu's memories but ones she had managed to get from Naruto. Needless to say, Sakura had been horrified at how her other self had treated him and had fawned mindlessly all over Sasuke, even after he became a traitor. The only slight comfort that she got was the fact that her alternate self seemed to gain some feelings for Naruto in later years...though when he got banished from Konoha that had made little difference. The biggest shock came from the deal he made with Shinigami...to think, not only was her boyfriend possibly one of the most powerful beings walking the earth, but he came from an alternate time line and was the avatar of Shinigami!

Kyuubi had been surprised that Sakura had taken it all in stride and amazed at the young woman's desire to right what her alternate self did wrong. Kyu was happy though, Sakura would make an excellent mate for her Naruto-kun and this Sakura was much different that her alternate time lines self was. In fact, Kyu would have to say that she was a much better person in this time line than she had been in the previous one.

"Hnn...where is Kakashi and Emo-teme?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Kakashi-sensei is having Sasuke work on the tree climbing exercise right now and he said something about practicing his Hiraishin later when Sasuke was done." Sakura answered.

Naruto gave a slight nod. "Hiraishin is a pretty hard jutsu to learn, it's basically a heavily modified Shunshin jutsu mixed with Fuuinjutsu and Summoning. He won't have an easy time mastering it...it took me forever to. At any rate, let's go and start your training, Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

"Okay, where should we go?" She asked as Kyuubi returned to fox form and scurried off to hunt.

"I scouted a clearing in the woods a short distance from here. It will be perfect for training." Naruto said remembering the clearing he had trained in the last time.

Sakura nodded and both began jumping from tree to tree as Naruto led the way towards the clearing. Both chuckling slightly as they passed Kakashi and Sasuke, who was having a hard time with the tree climbing exercise.

Two days later...

Naruto sighed slightly as he sat perched on a tree branch near the bridge. Several of Tazuna's workers had quit out of fear so Naruto made about fifty Shadow Clones to replace his lost workers as Zabuza and Haku acted as guards. Two days had passed since Sakura started her expanded elemental training. Naruto had to shake his head at the memory.

Sakura as it turned out was a natural Echomancer...she had an unnatural affinity for Plant Element Chakra, much like Haku's affinity with Ice. In fact, Naruto was almost certain that with a bit more training, Sakura's Plant affinity would eventually surpass the Kekkei Genkai abilities that the First Hokage had. She was growing at a truly amazing pace, her chakra levels were now triple that of Sasuke's were when they became a team, her control was as good as ever, her water and earth manipulation was easily low Jounin level and the special Taijutsu he had been teaching her...she took to it like a duck to water. Even her medical studies were coming along nicely putting her easily at mid to high Chunin level.

Then there was her Chakra Bow...that had shocked him. Not only was she damn near a crack shot but she could make arrows of pure chakra, earth chakra, water chakra and now plant chakra...hell she even found a way to combine explosive tags to standard arrows if she is running low on chakra or needs to conserve it. Her studies on anatomy gave her great insight as to what targets she would need to aim for and her inhuman chakra control enables her to make arrows with little to no chakra waste.

He was very proud of her and had told her as such. Much to his surprise and delight, she seemed to thrive on such compliments since it earned him a sudden and rather heated make out session with her. He had to snicker lightly to himself, Emo-teme, had no idea what so ever as to what he had missed out on, oh well, the teme's loss, his gain.

Kakashi had also come along quite well with his Hiraishin, especially after Naruto gave him a few pointers durring their private training. Kakashi could now perform the jutsu but with only one kunai at a time. It would take a bit of training for him to be able to use more than one. Naruto remembered it had taken him four years and loads of Shadow Clones to get the jutsu mastered to where he could use more than one of the special kunai.

Naruto had also trained a bit with Zabuza and Haku. He was currently teaching Zabuza how to perform one of his signature moves, the Demonic Spin Out. The former Kiri-nin was coming along slowly since one had to gain an immunity to the sudden dizziness that followed after using the technique. Still, Zabuza would master it eventually.

He had also helped Haku with her Kekkei Genkai. He taught her two of his own Ice jutsu...the Crystal Prison Jutsu and Piercing Ice Missile Jutsu. She had a good number of Water jutsu thanks to Zabuza but she had no Wind jutsu since Zabuza knew none, and since part of her affinity was wind, Naruto decided to help.

As such he taught her Great Breakthrough, Kaze no Yaiba, Drilling Air Bullet and Compressed Air Missile. She learned Great Breakthrough and Kaze no Yaiba right off, but the other two were giving her a bit of trouble. They were higher ranked jutsu; Compressed Air Missile was easily a low S-Rank jutsu itself. So he taught her how to better manipulate her wind affinity since she was used to using just Ice and Water.

Zabuza also took a bit of affinity training and learned to better harness his water jutsu and lower his chakra expenditure. Naruto taught Zabuza, Seeking Shark Missile and Aqua Lance...a jutsu Naruto created to enhance Kenjutsu. Naruto had much more powerful jutsu, but he would keep most of those to himself since they required insane amounts of chakra, control and ability to pull off, much like his Mystic Arts...which he had both armed and unarmed jutsu for.

On an interesting note...Haku had also seemed to have taken a liking to him. She was always blushing around him and giving off the same Honey/Vanilla smell that the other girls gave off. This slightly confused Naruto, mainly because he didn't know her to well, hell in the other time line he thought she was a he! The whole I am a boy bit apparently was a ploy to help keep Haku safe from some of the more unsavory things that happened to Kunoichi. And to Naruto's surprise...once she got rid of the bindings on her breasts...she was damn near the same size as Hinata was.

Naruto sighed...one thing was for sure, life was never boring.

Looking up at the sky Naruto could see that it was getting late. Tazuna, Zabuza and Haku had already left and his clones were dispelling themselves. His stomach growled a bit...it was dinner time. He idly wondered just how long he had been lost in his own thoughts and silently cursed himself for not being more aware of his surroundings. Jumping off his perch he put on a burst of speed and ran towards Tazuna's home.

Naruto arrived shortly after Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke did. He had taken them out for training since it was Naruto's turn to help with guard duty. Sakura glomped him and pecked him on the cheek in greeting as Kyuubi perched on his shoulder and cuddled up to him. He let out a slight chuckle and pecked Sakura on the forehead and gave Kyuubi a quick affectionate scratch behind the ears causing her to purr happily.

Sasuke gave a disgusted snort before scoffing at the two teens and the fox. Such frivolous shows of affection disgusted him greatly. He was still pissed off that Sakura not only mastered the tree walking exercise, something he was still working on, and she had mastered water walking and kunai balancing. Kakashi had started her on waterfall climbing and had taught her two jutsu to add to her arsenal, Water Fang Bullet and Earth Dragon Missile...she learned them quickly and would have them mastered soon. Something that irked Sasuke to no end...how could a pink haired demon-whore from a no-name clan be better than him...it was preposterous! Unfortunately there was nothing he could do at the moment so he settled for his usual brooding.

Tsunami and Haku were busily bustling about in the kitchen preparing food for everyone as Kakashi and Zabuza were reading a familiar orange book...both letting out small perverted giggles. Tazuna was guzzling down sake as usual as Naruto and Sakura sat down at the table with Kyuubi perched on the young Hanyou's shoulders.

Inari had also come down to get dinner and as usual he was sulking and brooding. Naruto wanted to gag at how the kid was acting just like Emo-teme. Though he knew what would likely be coming from the boy soon he did his best to ignore it and go on as if he had no idea. What he got...was worse than the previous time.

Inari glared hatefully at the cheerful ninjas sitting across the table from him, he couldn't stand it that they were so damn happy while he was so terribly miserable. Finally having enough, especailly from the pink haired tart and the blonde moron across from him he slammed his small fists down on the table.

"Why do you even bother? Gato is just going to kill you all, don't you realize that you can't ever win against him!" Inari shouted.

The entire table went silent and Naruto sighed...just like last time...well, time to nip this in the bud.

"Kindly keep such opinions to yourself, Inari-san, you know nothing about the true situation and until you do, do not try to undermine my teams confidence." Naruto said in slight monotone. "We are nothing like you, so please do not judge us as such." He added.

Inari turned red with anger as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I'm glad I'm nothing like you! You, Blonde-baka, you have no idea how horrible my life has been! But you probably come from some rich family and are spoiled...you probably have no idea how hard life can be!" Inari would have continued if Naruto's fist hadn't impacted with the table with enough force to make every dish and glass jump several inches.

Naruto let out a low growl, the brat had really grated on his nerves...more so than he did the last time. Kakashi, Sakura and Kyuubi cringed at what Inari had said...that brat had no clue. Haku winced as well while Zabuza watched on silently. Tazuna and Tsunami looked ashamed of the child.

Naruto's eyes flashed baleful crimson and glared into Inari's. Even Sasuke had enough brains to keep his trap shut and back off at this point.

"Silence you little brat!" Naruto's voice once again held a demonic timber to it. "I know nothing of suffering do I? I would suggest that you find out all the facts about other people before judging them too hastily."

"I probably know more about suffering than most people in this damn room." Naruto snarled and ripped off his trench coat and shirt.

Haku and Sakura flushed...so did Tsunami for that matter. But that stopped when they noticed just how many scars littered Naruto's muscular form, even Sakura hadn't had a chance to really get a good look the last time she'd seen him without a shirt. Some were small, easily gained from training, some were big, reminders of past fights...but there were others that were disfiguring, especially on his back...it was littered with what appeared to be lash and slash marks from some kind of whip and/or blade. Faint scars from Chidori attacks from his previous life in the future were also present. Anyone could tell just by looking at his torso...he had gone through hell.

"Do you see these wonderful marks? These are reminders. You see, since the day I was born I was hated, loathed and despised by my village. All because my father, in a last ditch effort to save our home, sacrificed me and himself to seal a demon within me that had been forced to attack our village by a mad man. I lost both of my parents that night...the night of my birth, that very same night I had two attempted assassinations on me. Had it not been for our Hokage I would have been dead."

"I grew up fearing and hating my own birthday because the mobs of villagers would always be so much worse that day...I always spent it in the hospital after getting beaten to within an inch of my life, why? Because I was a living, walking and talking reminder to those people and what they lost that day. The demon, freed from the force that controlled it, did its best to help me and heal me but it could never get rid of all the scars."

"Do you know that I have had more assassination attempts on my life than even our Hokage has in his life time? I believe the last number came up at around 423. Such a wonderful, spoiled life I live, no? Well then, how about this? Because of the burden forced upon me...even if it had been innocent, I was thrown out of the orphanage at age five. I lived on the streets for nearly a year, always dodging mobs of angry villagers. I had to eat from the trash bins to get any kind of food, stores of all kinds refused me service and what they would sell me was either poisoned or rotted."

"Our Hokage did his best to help, giving me a small apartment and some money whenever he could. My apartment had been broken into and ravaged more times than I care to count so I had no items of personal value. In fact I usually scrounged the trash to get what I had since all the shops in my village either threw me out or charged me triple price for their worst wares."

"Then to top it all off I became a Hanyou, giving the ignorant fools all the more reason to hate and loath my existence."

Naruto's friends had a look of shame in their eyes, except for Sasuke who didn't care. Zabuza was just shaking his head and Haku looked ready to cry, knowing such horror herself. Sakura was sobbing softly next to Naruto with a tearful Kyuubi trying her best to calm both her mate and her new friend. Naruto sighed again and let his power levels go back to normal as well as his voice.

Tazuna was a bit freaked but knew it best that he kept his mouth shut and he hoped his grandson would learn a proper lesson. Tsunami was of like mind but had a frown on her face…she had never seen a Hanyou before, it was strange. Inari for his part was scared shitless.

"Inari...you need to understand that no matter how bad you might have it, there is always someone out there who has it worse off. There are people out there that have suffered just as much, if not more so than I have. But no matter how bad things get, how horrible life becomes, you have to keep hope that one day it will be better." Naruto's voice became softer and kindly yet held a strong undertone of maturity.

"I for one never gave up, no matter how bad things got I learned that sitting around and crying wasn't going to do me any good. I learned that in order to move on, I needed to rise above the hate and anger rather than stoop to that level of ignorance and foolishness. And in time I began to find my precious people...people that not only gave me the strength I needed to carry on no matter what, but they also gave me true power...the power to rise up against any and all odds no matter what in order to protect them." Giving Kyuubi an affectionate scratch and Sakura's shoulder a light squeeze he looked at the boy with a small smile.

"You still have people who consider you precious to them and I am sure you feel the same about them, your mother and grandfather. You might not realize it, but you are hurting them...when you are sad, so are your precious people. You should consider yourself lucky...you still have your family. I would give almost anything to spend just one fleeting moment with my parents. But I have realized that such things are impossible...but that doesn't mean I cannot find or make a new family to love and cherish...a new family to give me strength to let go of the pains of my past and heal the scars on my heart."

"Cherish who you have, Inari, and find more precious people to protect. When you find them...and let them in, you will discover an awesome power that will give you the strength you need to stand up against anything...even bastards like Gato. Your step-father was a true hero...he died fighting for what he believed in, honor that...don't make his sacrifice go to waste. Just because he is no longer with you in the physical sense...doesn't mean that he doesn't live on in your heart. Hero's do still exist...they come in all manner of forms and personalities."

Naruto walked up to Inari and wiped some of the boy's tears away and to the boy's surprise, gave him a brotherly hug.

"Find yourself a new hero but never forget the ones previous. Live for your step-father...he would want that, he would want you to be happy. Find your precious people and fight for them and your beliefs with all your being and then you too will become a hero. There aren't always happy endings in this world of ours...but we must do our best to see that some come to pass. Think about what I've said and remember...I will always be there for you if no one else will be so will your mother and grandfather. We believe in you kiddo...so believe in yourself." Naruto said softly and ruffled Inari's hair. He then stood, turned on his heal and walked out of the now silent house.

Tsunami, Haku, Sakura and Kyuubi were weeping silent tears, Tazuna had his head bowed, Sasuke was brooding as usual, Inari was staring blankly at the place Naruto had just been as Kakashi and Zabuza looked a bit downcast.

"Was...was what he said...was it all true?" Inari asked quietly.

Kakashi nodded and sighed sadly. "It is...sadly it was a very sugarcoated version too. That young mans life could only easily be described as hell on earth. Only recently has his life begun to get any better. In many ways, he is his parents son...his unbreakable will and spirit never cease to amaze and his outlook and ability to forgive are a miracle all in their own. He has never once showed hatred towards those who have abused him, all he desires is to protect them and the people he deems precious to him. And he does so fiercely...his power is nearly unmatched by anything except, perhaps the size of his own heart." Kakashi said looking at the door Naruto left out of.

"You should listen to his words, Inari...he is only thinking of your own well being and happiness." The copy ninja added.

"It is a shame...the fate of the Jinchuuriki." Zabuza said shaking his head sadly. "The power of human sacrifice indeed. To think he would willingly sacrifice so much, even for people that hate him...he is a far better man than I."

"But that is just how he is..." Sakura said softly. "Naruto-kun has always sacrificed his own happiness for that of others. He is always trying to help those in need...never asking for anything in return. It's...why I love him. I nearly missed my chance to be with him because of my own stupidity but now...I will be there for him...so that he doesn't have to always sacrifice his happiness for others." Kyuubi nodded her head feeling the same.

Sasuke scoffed and went off to bed while grumbling about attention seeking demons. It took all the restraint Kakashi, Kyuubi, Sakura, Haku and Zabuza held not to get up and throttle the arrogant little prick. Even Tsunami and surprisingly Inari shot him disgusted glares.

After a moment, Haku, got up and gathered up Naruto's mesh shirt and trench coat.

"I...think I will take Naruto-sama's coat and shirt to him...the nights here can be a bit chilly." She said softly and walked out after him hastily.

Sakura wanted to follow, but for some reason she felt that it would be best if she stayed put. She had heard from Kyuubi just how hard Haku's life had been before meeting Zabuza. Perhaps both of them would be good for each other. Sakura did like Haku, she was a very kind and gentle young woman and in the past couple of days, the pink haired Kunoichi had found that the more she was around Haku; the less she minded if Naruto grew to have feelings for her as well. If there was one thing she knew about her fiancé, it was that he had a big enough heart to love them all equally...what was another girl or two anyways when you have someone like Naruto.

Many thoughts flowed through Haku's mind as she searched out the young man that intrigued her so much. He was unlike any man she had ever met before, he was frighteningly powerful, yet he was humble. He seemed to have years of experience, despite his age and held an aura of confidence, maturity and power cloaked around him.

To find out that he too knew the same suffering that she did made her heart go out to him. She could hardly fathom how he could be so kind and forgiving when by all rights he should be destroying everything in sight. But ever since the moment she first met him, she could tell that there was something special about him...something that not only warmed her heart but attracted her to him. It was almost as if she knew him in a way...perhaps their similar pasts would better explain it.

The Ice Mistress couldn't deny the fact that she wanted to get to know him better...hell she wouldn't even mind dating him. A truly shocking thing since she rarely let herself get close or think about any other man than her father figure Zabuza. She had also heard Kakashi and Zabuza talking about him being the last of his clan...meaning that he practiced polygamy. At first that made her a bit wary of him, thinking him to be the usual male pervert. But over the past couple of days and through their training sessions she learned he was anything but a pervert...in fact he actually despised perverts.

It was strange in a way. She had seen that he could be truly frightening, his power and the fact he's half demon were not lost on her, not that she actually cared...she thought his tail was actually cute. But when not in the midst's of battle he was actually quite kind and very gentle...almost as if he was a different person. Much better than his teammate, the Uchiha, that boy must have been born with an mean stick rammed up his ass.

It didn't take her long to find Naruto. He was standing on one of the many unused docks on the peir. His arms crossed, tail and hair blowing slightly in the breeze as he gazed out over the moonlit waters. The silvery moonlight washing over his bare upper body seemed to give him an unearthly glow due to his unnatural tanned skin tone, his scars looking all the more darker in the pale lighting.

Haku felt her breathe hitch as she took in the scene before her. Sure she thought he was handsome, no woman in their right mind wouldn't, but to see him like this...it was just something she couldn't put into words...it was breathtaking.

Sensing the presence behind him, Naruto turned to see a slightly flushed Haku looking at him through slightly glazed half lidded eyes. He offered her a small smile, the painful past memories his speech had drudged up long since put back in their place.

"Haku-chan, why are you out at this time of night, you could catch cold." He said concerned for her health.

Haku's blush turned a darker shade of pink but she just gave him her usual cute smile.

"I brought you out your shirt and coat since it is you who should worry about getting sick." She replied.

Naruto gave a short chuckle. "I'm a Hanyou and I have a very advanced and accelerated healing factor and immune system...I don't get sick, in fact I never have once in my life. But thanks for your concern, it is appreciated."

Haku fidgeted a bit and Naruto motioned for her to join him on the pier. He thanked her again as he took his shirt and coat, placing them back on before turning back out towards the ocean view. Haku also looked out with him, standing next to him in a comfortable silence.

It was actually a beautiful night, the moonlight shown on the waters surface like a sliver dancing across and endless mass of dark blue silk fluttering in the breeze. It was so clear that you could see each of the stars twinkling happily in the night sky almost as if the troubles in the world were just a little less at the moment. In was indeed a beautiful sight to behold.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't Haku-chan?" Naruto asked in a soft tone still gazing out over the waters.

"Aye...it is." She answered in a like tone.

"It's amazing how something as simple as nature can bring peace to ones soul...it is a shame that many people do not realize it. For all the ugliness I have seen in my life...all I need to do is remember scenes like this and my precious people. Those two things alone remind me just what I fight for, why I fight and why I protect. Nature, be it night or day, always has a beauty about it so long as it is left unspoiled by man. It always serves as a reminder that there are indeed things still pure in this world." Naruto mused.

Haku flushed again...what was it about this young Hanyou that enraptured her so? Could it be his handsome looks or was it his personality that made her heart flutter and stomach turn so delightfully. She glanced at his facial features for a moment idly wondering if his lips felt as soft and warm as they looked. She shivered slightly due to both a sudden chilly breeze and her own thoughts.

Naruto, being a gentleman, saw that his friend was cold so he put an arm around her and pulled her close to him knowing that his jacket was to thin to actually offer any warmth. Haku gasped slightly at the contact and flushed deeply as she cuddled into Naruto's side. Despite the chilly weather he was very warm and his touch gentle and comforting.

"Should we head back, you seem to be getting cold?" Naruto asked.

"No...that's fine...I'd like to stay out here for a little bit." Haku answered not willing to let go of the sudden object of her affections.

"As you wish." Naruto said and returned to looking out over the waters.

Naruto just smiled at the young Ice Maiden cuddled up next to him, not ever realizing just what kind of impact he was having on her. In a lot of ways she kind of reminded him of a mixture of Hinata and Sakura. She was shy at times but knew how to be accretive when need be and she was exceptionally gifted. Naruto idly wondered if Haku could teach Hinata, Ice Jutsu when they got back to Konoha, since Hinata had affinities for wind and water. Not that he wouldn't teach her some himself.

Haku found that she felt quite content in the strong arms of her new friend and hoped, given some time, that they could grow to be more than just friends.

"C'mon, Haku-chan, lets go back to Tazuna's...we have more training to do tomorrow." Naruto said.

"Okay." Haku answered softly and followed him back, though she never let go of his arm the entire time.

"You're getting very good with your element manipulations, Sakura-chan, if I didn't know better I'd almost think you had a Plant Element Kekkei Genkai." Naruto praised.

Sakura was slightly panting next to him and in front of her was a rose bush in full bloom that she had made from a single seed and fusing her earth and water element chakra. It was still a bit of a strain for her but it was getting much easier. As she found out, Fusion Jutsu not only required a lot of chakra control but a fair amount of chakra as well.

To her credit though, she had learned Wood Clone and Wood Encampment Wall jutsu's fairly easy but both were low level jutsu to begin with. Once she got more competent and had less chakra drain, Naruto told her he would teach her Thorn Prison, Ensnaring Vine, Grass Senbon and Leaf Shuriken jutsu's.

Sakura had even started on her own project, a new one. She had collected a large number of Cherry Blossom petals and was infusing them with her chakra. Not only would the chakra keep the pretty pink, red and white petals alive, but when focused properly it made them razor sharp. At the moment she could only control a small amount of them at any given time...but if Naruto was right...Sakura was about to create a special new ability similar to what Gaara did with his sand. In a way...it was kind of scary.

"Thanks, Naruto-kun." Sakura said happily. "These fusion jutsu are pretty hard though."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, they can be. But once your chakra levels reach Jounin level, and given your control abilities, you will have much less problems with them. But for now you have a fair jutsu arsenal, much better than most other Genin, you have your Chakra Bow and soon you'll have your blossom petals as well. All of which can be classified as Haruno Clan jutsu, you've got a lot to be proud about."

Sakura blushed prettily, Naruto may not realize it but he is in fact the reason she works so hard and he is what inspires her. He is always making suggestions on things she can do and given her above average intelligence she has been able to create a few jutsu on her own...almost unheard of among Genin or anyone else their age.

Kyuubi walked into the clearing, in her Hanyou form once again and gave Naruto a quick kiss as greeting before setting down a small basket of food Tsunami had prepared for them. To say the others had been surprised last night when she took her humanoid form would be an understatement. Though for the record...Zabuza, Tazuna and Kakashi got slight nose bleeds at the sight of her.

She and Sakura gave a quick explanation while Haku was out looking for Naruto. Kakashi had just sighed and muttered about how he might as well not be surprised anymore. Besides, having viewed Naruto's memories that day the teams were assigned in the Hokage's office had mellowed him out greatly towards the former nine tailed demoness. The fact that she was Naruto's first mate had made Kakashi and Zabuza go into a small fit of perverted giggles and why not, tails and fox ears aside...she was one hot little number.

Kyuubi sat down next to Sakura and smiled, her tails swaying happily behind her. Sakura had to giggle a bit at how cute Kyuubi could be at times.

"So, how's your training going, Sakura-chan?" Kyuubi asked.

"Pretty good, Kyu-chan, I learned Wood Encampment Wall and Wood Clone jutsu today and my fusion manipulation is getting better." She answered feeling pride in her accomplishments.

"That's great! I just saw, Haku-chan, a few minutes ago. She was helping Kakashi-san, train the Emo kid...he was getting his ass kicked." She chuckled.

"No surprise there really, Haku-chan is very fast, especially if she uses her special Bloodline jutsu, Demonic Ice Mirrors." Naruto said as he pulled out some sandwiches and tea.

"Hmm...that's probably what Kakashi-sensei, is doing, he's trying to get Sasuke to improve his speed." Sakura added offhandedly as she accepted a sandwich.

"So how long do you think we have before, Gato-teme, decides to strike out at us?" Kyuubi asked. "Zabuza is with Tazuna and he's getting a bit tense, said something about the fat man making a move soon." She added.

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'd say we have at the most two days left until he tries something. That demon, Gornak, will likely wait until all hell breaks loose before he comes in to take over the fight."

Kyuubi nodded. "Most likely, Gornak may be a greedy bastard, but he was a smart and powerful one too. You don't get the title of Sin Lord by just being overly sinful. The prick will probably show up with a small army of lesser demons as well."

"I'm not too worried about those. Wraith's, Shadow Beasts, Lurker's, Vampire's and Werewolves are all pretty much small fry compared to those Devil-Class bastards. Thankfully the Sin Lords loath to work with each other so I doubt we will have to worry about any others showing up." Naruto stated.

"What about other tailed demons; you said they would be likely to attack you if you ever left the village?" Sakura asked.

"That's true, but if any of them are stupid enough to attack it would be more likely to happen while we are away from civilization. Biju rarely have qualms about attacking a village unless another more powerful Biju is there and the lesser Biju like that five tailed scorpion are usually either too stupid or primitive minded to formulate a proper plan of action or they despise going anywhere near places with too many humans due to their more animalistic thought patterns. Even some of the Biju Lords are like that, Sanbi for instance; he's a giant three tailed snapper turtle and quite powerful but his mind is more along the lines of his non-demonic counter parts. Sure he's aggressive by nature but if you leave him alone he'll leave you alone...unless he's hungry, but otherwise he's nothing more than a over blown snapper turtle with three tails and no ability to use his powers other than on an instinctual level due to his primal thought process." Naruto explained.

"Geeze...when it comes to demons and stuff like that you are smarter than any book I've seen in Konoha Library." Sakura mused.

"Well...it kinda comes with the territory, I am the Nine Tailed Lord after all, not to mention I gained most of Kyu's knowledge at one point." Naruto said a bit dryly.

Sakura frowned a bit in thought for a moment. "Say...when we..." She blushed a bit. "...mate with you, do we get any kind of special powers or anything like that...do we become Hanyou too?" She asked curiously.

"Yes and no." Kyuubi answered. "Once, Naruto-kun, mates with someone...you for example, will gain a telepathic link to him, you will gain more power up to about a quarter of Naruto-kun's total limit, his healing factor and accelerated immunity and his life span will also be passed on due to your soul bonding to his. There is a slight chance that you will gain some other powers, like your elemental affinities becoming Kekkei Genkai. But you won't become a Hanyou...at least not in the manner Naruto-kun is. At the most you will become a quarter demoness and while a few minor features might change slightly you won't get things like tails or the like. At the most you might get slit pupils and/or whisker marks besides the Mating Mark...I'm pretty sure you'll get enhanced senses as well."

Sakura just nods. "I didn't really care either way, even if I were to gain tails or something like that, so slit pupils and whisker marks are fine with me if it happens." She didn't need to ask how the whole mating/bonding thing was done, Kyuubi had told her. While Sakura was very tempted, she felt it best to wait for a while before she go that intimate with Naruto...not that a little making out or petting wouldn't make up for it.

"By the way, how was Inari, I haven't seen him since the little episode last night?" Naruto asked.

Kyuubi smiled. "He is much better now, Naruto-kun. You gave him much to think about and I believe he has discovered that while his life has been hard, it has not been as bad as some others. He actually had a small smile on his face this morning."

"That's good." Naruto sighed. "I didn't want to be too rough on the kid or freak anyone out...but it needed to be said. Though I do think I might had confused Haku-chan last night...she was a bit clingy when we were on the pier."

"She's probably got a crush on you." Sakura said as she took a sip of tea.

Naruto choked on his sandwich, causing Kyuubi to giggle and pat his back.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Well...that is unexpected..."

Sakura pouted a bit. "You like her don't you?"

"Well she is my friend, yes, but I don't have that sort of feelings for her..." He was cut off by Kyuubi.

"Yet..." She giggled.

"Well...that might come in time but for right now I am happy with you ladies. But if something does eventually grow between us I will give her the same chance that I am giving all of you. Just remember...if more girls do come to join my family...I won't love any of you any less, I promise...and you both know I never go back on my word." Naruto pledged.

Sakura sighed. "I don't really mind, Haku-chan, is a nice girl...just don't move to quickly, some of us would like our fair share of time with you okay?"

Naruto chuckled, leaned over and gave the pink haired Kunoichi a kiss to relieve her of any doubts. Once Sakura was in a suffecient state of mind numbing bliss he repeated the gesture with Kyuubi who was more than happy to reciprocate.

He then got up and sat between the two girls, smiling a bit as they cuddled up to him. Never once in his past time line did he think that he would ever gain this level of happiness. It was almost too good to be true; even so, he would protect this happiness with all his might.

"I am finally gaining what I've always wanted. I never imagined feeling love could be this good when I can actually hold the ones I love. I doubt I'll ever stop being amazed at the wonderful feeling the girls give me...I finally have a family, an unorthodox one, but a family none the less. For them...I will fight till the end...I would die for them, I...would live for them...always." Naruto thought as he pulled the girls a bit closer to him.

While he no longer knew exactly what would happen in the future, it didn't matter anymore, not as long as his loved ones were kept safe. He was still worried about facing the Sin Lord...but Kami help the demonic bastard should he lay a single claw any his girls or his friends and family...for then they would not face only the wrath of the Neo-Kyuubi...but the Avatar of Shinigami. Soon demons all over would learn to fear the Reaper and that the last thing they would ever want to do is piss him off, because, may the gods have mercy on their souls, for he will not.